Monday, October 25, 2010

Woe is Wade!

1-5 record

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NFL's 2nd highest player payroll ($146,401,600)

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Tony Romo out (likely) for the year

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Jerry Jones as owner

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Wade Phillips will be lucky to last until next Sunday. He was almost certain to be fired at the end of the year, and Jerry might decide to use the final 10 games to see if Jason Garrett is the man to lead this team next year. If he's not...

6 comments:

i doubt that even his defenders would say that gruden wears well in the long term, but in the right situation, he most certainly can be the catalyst that gets a team over humps. this is that situation. one of the weaker units on the cowboys seems to be the offensive line, and i remember what gruden did with a group that STARTED KENYATTA WALKER AT LEFT TACKLE. KENYATTA WALKER. i also think he can get romo's loony pass/play number down from 3 per game to maybe 1 per game. that would be of tremendous benefit to the team.

i remember reading an interview with wayne rainey, a multiple f1 motorbike world champion. they asked him what he did when he got passed. his response: 'i change what i am doing immediately'. great advice for the cowboys, because things are not getting better.

I firmly believe that Gruden is one of the game’s elite x and o schemers. Conversely, I said for years that he (and Allen) needed help in the player personnel department. With a committed owner like Jerry Jones, any coach will be given every opportunity to field a consistent contender. Not to get too deep into it, but Jones has to be feeling an extreme sense of urgency. His team won’t be playing in his new big top for the title this year (that has to kill him), and I’m not sure he’s ready to hitch his franchise’s hopes to Jason Garrett’s star. Does Jones think a rookie HC will increase the likelihood of his team reaching the top of the NFL mountain. Will he be “desperate” for a big name? Will a big name want to go there and have a continuous clash of egos with the owner? I can see Gruden and Jones co-existing. Carolina, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Jacksonville are four teams who may be looking for a coach, but I can’t see Gruden in any of those locations. Minnesota, San Diego, and San Francisco are the other teams I’d keep an eye on. It will be interesting to see what happens, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if he stayed put on MNF. That’s quite a cushy gig.

Nice quote. Unfortunately, whether it’s due to arrogance, stubbornness, and/or simply ineptitude, major sport franchises don’t usually react/adjust in a timely fashion. No, I don’t expect them to have as quick a trigger as most fans do, but often, a team’s (owner’s) reluctance to change is deeply rooted in ego.

As Confucius said, “Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”

Christy was pretty good, but he unfortunately spent his "really good" years in Minnesota. Faine has never been the most durable center, so finding depth or someone to push him out of a job will be on the list of things to do this offseason.

Dungy would be a great hire; bring some needed stability and respect. That said, unless I missed something recently, I can't see him coming back to coaching. I really think he's put that in his rear view. He's always been a big believer in helping others, and he can do more of that in his current off-field capacity. A JJ-JJ reunion would be worth watching, but again, couldn't see it happening.

I really think Jerry is going to be looking for an established guy, not wanting to go through this kind of embarrassment again. If not Gruden (I'm not convinced he's coming back to coaching next year) then the next guy that comes to mind is Brian Billick. I'm still a big fan of his knowledge and ability as a HC and don't think he was any less of a talented coach when his time wound down in Baltimore. Sometimes, change is just needed; especially when you consider personalities. Nothing against the guy, but Billick is a bit more abrasive (for lack of a better word) than a guy like Dungy; someone who could have remained HC in Indy until he keeled over. I could see Billick working well in Dallas.